Merchandise Management – Making a Successful Career
Merchandise management and planning are an integral part of a successful clothing retailer. There are some statistics to consider regarding the size of the global apparel market.
The quality and efficiency of the product management process are the most critical factors for a retailer's success. The right combination of products and the right inventory level (the right place, the right time) requires thoughtful planning, sourcing, and efficient logistics. Combined with an intelligent price range, this leads to attractive offers and excellent customer service.
Merchandse management involves understanding and assessing consumer purchasing habits to procure, plan, display, and store products efficiently. This is a process from start to finish (strategy) to end (performance assessment), which is cyclical and involves people at all levels of the retail organization.
The merchandise management course has been extended to those seeking a career in the retail industry. The industry faces a shortage of skilled employees who can handle store design, merchandising, customer service, supply chain management, and IT.
The overall goal of the product plan is to maximize profitability by limiting price cuts and achieving and exceeding sales targets while limiting excess inventory.
Merchandise planners typically use last year's history to plan their pre-season and create a six-month plan, usually in the fall or spring. Pre-season planning takes into account business changes such as major holidays and lost sales opportunities. For example, if winter weather is hot and sales are lost or not until much later, they need to keep an accurate history and not plan this for the upcoming fall season.
Merchandise management is selected, manages, purchases, displays, and pricing products. That maximizes return on investment and added value to the brand by meeting consumer needs and avoiding overstocking.
In addition, Merchandise management is about getting the right products at the right time, in the right place, in the correct quantity, at the right price. You can also use the appropriate product inventory software to optimize your inventory operations.
A product category is a basic unit used to manage products in a retail environment. Retailers group products into categories to classify and structure each item sold in the store. The product category focuses on how customers approach shopping, shop in stores, and their needs. The product category determines which stores sell and which stores do not.
This process involves forecasting sales from a bottom-up or top-down approach. Product planners execute plans based on their knowledge of individual store performance to reach sales and inventory goals in a bottom-up approach. The top-down approach involves an executive team that provides sales planning goals for separate departments. In many cases, both methods are combined to reach the most realistic planning goals.
There are endless career opportunities and prospects. This merchandise Planning online course is a personalized program for a career in the retail industry. Candidates are typically selected, placed, and trained in the chosen area. This course completes the formative aspect. Therefore, the industry is offered candidates ready to be absorbed by mid-sized businesses.